13 Year Wait And Proud Dad!

I thought I would share this pre-hunt story with all of you. I have been putting my daughter in for preference points here in Colorado for 13 years. She was 14 and is now 27. We put in for Unit 21 this year. We heard good things about this area but I think the stories are a little inflated. This area should hold nice deer but 190 class bucks I am told are not in this area. I guess we will find out November 6, 2010.

Anyway, my daughter has not shot a rifle in 5 years and we have been trying to figure out which rifle we were going to take. We went to a friends ranch near Golden Colorado to sight in her 308 WM rifle. I threw my 338 Lapua Improved in the rig just because it wanted to go .

I wanted her to try out the 338 LAI but she was a little nervous about shooting the big rifle. She finally said she would give it a try if her husband shot it first. Josh shot the rifle a couple times and reassured her it would be fine.

I took the time to get her setup and show her the ropes which took about 45 minutes. I was sure she would flinch and not do real well at a 100 yards. To my surprise she did well for her 1st time shooting in 5 years. She held 3 shots at about 3/4 moa at 100 yards. Did I mention that she weighs a whopping 95lbs! She sure did not take after her dad in the weight department.

She wanted to shoot further, so we setup a target at 300 yards and once again about 3/4 moa. By this time she had already decided that if the opportunity lended itself....she would like to use this rifle on her deer hunt.

I asked my duaghter if she would like to shoot at my 1000 yard range I am a member of. She replied that she would really like that, so I took her out on Sunday.

My 338 LAI is shooting 300gn SMK's at 2,940 fps. The white dots are stickers we put over the bullet holes in the pits...so the shooter can spot their own shots at these distances.

This is a 600 yard 3 shot group she shot! Note the tooth pic for size reference

This is her 800 yard 3 shot group. The hole in the center of the X is not a bullet hole. We have a 3" round cardboard target we punch through the paper. You can see the outline in the photo below.

I think my daughter is ready for her deer hunt that she has waited so long to get.

Wish your daughter the best on the hunt. I drew 21 with 13 points two years ago. My wife hunts with a 338-378 wby and does very well with it. She shot her last elk at a quarter mile with it. A good brake works miracles.

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Predictions are difficult, especially when they involve the future

I can't wait till my daughter can hunt!! We're half way there, she's already picked out the stock and she wants pink flutes on the barrel and bolt, she's daddy's girl for now. Good luck to you guys and hope you have a good time sharing it, looks like she'll put the smack down on it, wow!!